Guilty plea on weapons charges from Merritt man involved in armed standoff

A Merritt man who was involved in an armed standoff with the RCMP last year has pleaded guilty to possession of illegal weapons.

Officers were executing a warrant on May 27, 2020 after receiving reports that a local couple committed assaults, one of which involved a firearm, according to a Merritt RCMP press release. Local officers had additional support from the South East District Emergency Response Team.

Tyler James Collins was heavily armed on when police arrived at the 1600 block of Bann Street. He was among five people taken into custody after a short standoff, RCMP said.

“Our search of the residence yielded a Remington 870 shotgun, a compound bow, replica hand guns, a replica machine gun, gun powder, ammunition, body armour and hard drugs,” Sgt. Josh Roda said in the release. “We were very pleased to take these items out of the hands of people that shouldn’t have them.”

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Yesterday, Dec. 20, Collins pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm, crossbow, prohibited weapon, prohibited device, ammunition and prohibited ammunition or explosive while prohibited. He was sentenced to 285 days in jail, 12 months probation, a lifetime firearm prohibition, and a $100 victim surcharge fine.

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